Modern Furniture offers a superior variety and selection of Fine Furniture at Modern Furniture in Newport and Lyndonville, VT and Woodsville and Littleton, NH fine furnishings for your home from more than a dozen well known and respected manufacturers, Related to Sleep Disorders Memory Foam: Pros and Cons Considering a memory foam mattress or similar product? Read what sleep experts say about it. Few things feel as good as a good night's sleep. That's especially true if sleep seems to escape you, night after night after night. If you've heard about memory foam, you may wonder if it could improve the quality of yoursleep. Some people swear by it. Others are less enthusiastic. What exactly is memory foam? And what are its pros and cons? Here's information to help you decide whether memory foam is worth a try. What Is Memory Foam? First designed in the mid-1960s for NASA airplane seats, memory foam is made from a substance called viscoelastic. It is both highly energy absorbent and soft.
Memory foam molds to the body in response to heat and pressure, evenly distributing body weight. It then returns to its original shape once you remove the pressure. In addition to protecting against impact, these properties make memory foam very comfortable. After its "virgin flight" for NASA, memory foam made a foray into other applications. For example, it was used as cushioning in helmets and shoes. Medicine found a use for it in prosthetics and products to prevent pressure ulcers such as seating pads for people who are severely disabled. Then, memory foam really took off. It's now well known for its use in pillows, mattress pads, and mattresses, which come in different densities and depths. What Are the Benefits of Memory Foam? Could the special properties of memory foam enhance your sleep? Sleep specialist Donna L. Arand, PhD, says that objective studies supporting the claimed benefits of memory foam -- or the effects of any particular type of sleeping surface -- are lacking.
This is true for a variety of reasons, she says. This type of sleep study can be expensive, if conducted independently. Or it is "chased" by a shadow of bias, if supported by industry. Also, some sleep technology, such as memory foam, is relatively new, so it hasn't been well studied. But perhaps one of the more difficult stumbling blocks to testing the health benefits of mattresses such as memory foam is the subjective nature of sleep. It is simply difficult to measure. Sometimes the brain's electrical activity, measured with an electroencephalogram (EEG), and other findings recorded during a sleep test don't always match up perfectly with a person's subjective experience, says Arand, who is the clinical director of the Kettering Sleep Disorders Center in Dayton, Ohio. "They might say, ‘I had a great night's sleep,' but the EEG parameters might not really indicate that." Sleep is not only subjective, but preferences for sleep surfaces are individual, Arand says. "There's quite a bit of variability between individuals in terms of what type of surface -- whether it's firm, hard, or soft -- they prefer when they're sleeping," she says.
"As far as we know, there is no rhyme or reason for that." Many of Arand's patients who use memory foam have offered unsolicited glowing reports like these about memory foam: "I'm sleeping great." "Best sleep I've ever had." "I love going to bed at night." Arand says these anecdotal responses may be one-sided. That's because she and other staff don't ask all their patients about their sleep surfaces. "We may only be hearing the good stuff," Arand says. Kathy R. Gromer, MD, sleep specialist with the Minnesota Sleep Institute in Minneapolis, agrees that memory foam may improve sleep. "It can, if it relieves painful pressure points," she says. But Gromer adds that memory foam doesn't do anything for sleep apnea or other sleep-breathing disorders -- and sleep disorders are the primary complaint of most her patients. "When you lie on the memory foam, the heat from your body softens it in appropriate points," Arand says, "so this helps to support your body along the curves and natural lines of the body."
Memory foam manufacturers claim this helps relieve pain and thereby promotes more restful sleep. And, though consumers often believe that very firm mattresses are best, more "giving" mattresses like these may lead to better sleep in people with back pain, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Although there aren't scientific data to support the hypothesis, Arand wonders whether memory foam sleep surfaces might be especially helpful for older people. For them, minimizing extra movement could reduce the number of times they awaken during the night. Being less aware of a bed partner's movements might be an extra benefit, she adds. "Without the coiled springs, you feel your sleep partner's movement less, and that might help, too." What Are the Disadvantages of Memory Foam? Gromer says that memory foam products may retain body heat, which could make them less comfortable in warm weather. However, Arand has not heard this complaint from her patients. "In our culture, most people can adjust their thermostats or blankets for the appropriate season," Arand says.
When new, memory foam can produce an odd chemical smell -- a phenomenon called offgassing. To minimize this problem, the Sleep Products Safety Council, a sleep products trade group, recommends airing out the mattress or pad for at least 24 hours before putting sheets on it. "If you follow directions, the smell dissipates quickly," Arand says, "But I've never heard of anyone having reactions to it." Are Memory Foam Products Safe for Young Children? "I would strongly recommend avoiding this and similar very soft materials for use in infants' beds," Gromer says. "That's because soft bedding traps [carbon dioxide] and increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) deaths." Wichita's largest selection of Tempur-pedic(tm), Memory foam, two-sided, single-sided, and adjustable mattresses. Guaranteed lowest prices or you bed is FREE! Beds For Less East Beds For Less West Beds for Less ManhattanExperts say the most important part of picking a new mattress is that it feels comfortable to you (and your sleep).
You’ve had an active day, eaten right, taken a bath, donned your favorite PJs, and banished your phone and other screens from your bedroom -- just like experts say to do for optimal sleep. But you’re still tossing and turning. Turns out, your mattress may be to blame. "The sleep surface is critical to sleep quality, and unfortunately is too often overlooked," Terry Cralle, a certified clinical sleep educator and author of Sleeping Your Way To The Top, told The Huffington Post. Too many people reach for sleeping pills or an over-the-counter sleep aid without even considering what they are sleeping on, she said. One study published in Applied Ergonomics found that new bedding systems improved measures of pain, stiffness, sleep comfort and quality across the board in a group of 62 men and women compared with their old beds, which on average were more than nine years old. Want to know more? Here's a five-point guide to picking out a new mattress: It's time to buy new "when you sleep better away from home (in a hotel room or elsewhere), or if you prefer to sleep on your recliner or sofa," Cralle said.
Additional signs your mattress needs replacing include waking up with aches or pains, not feeling as refreshed in the morning or waking up in the night because you're too hot or restless, she said. Worn or sagging spots in the middle of your mattress or at the edges are physical signs your mattress has seen better days, according to recommendations from the National Sleep Foundation -- and you should be able to sleep undisturbed on your side of the bed if your partner rolls over or gets up in the middle of the night. Though there is no hard and fast rule on how long to keep a mattress, most have a lifespan of about eight years, according to the NSF. Cralle suggested evaluating how well your mattress is meeting your sleep needs after about seven years, or if you've had an injury or illness, a significant weight change or a new bed partner: "You may have forgotten how good a new comfortable mattress can feel." In addition to everybody having their own body type and sleep needs, our bodies and those needs change over time.
A mattress that was comfortable when we were 35 will not be as comfortable at 45, Cralle said. Factors like pain, weight loss, weight gain, and chronic disease can all affect our sleep preferences. "The mattress that is comfortable for a 98-pound woman with arthritis may not be comfortable for a 250-pound man who sleeps hot," she pointed out. But the good news is that new bedding technologies and materials means mattresses have come a long way, and there really is a mattress out there for everyone, Cralle said. "Just remember: The mattress that your neighbor raves about may not be the mattress you rave about." Experts say expensive mattresses are not always superior, and some mattresses are better suited for your sleep position than others. Overall, your mattress should feel comfortable to you, bed expert Dan Schecter, senior vice president of sales and marketing at the cushioning product company Carpenter Co., told The Huffington Post. “The most important factor is comfort.”
So it’s important to spend enough time looking and shopping for the mattress that’s right for you, he said. Know your budget, what size mattress you need and any health concerns or personal needs that might be affected by your mattress -- like arthritis, back pain, sleep apnea or allergies. Try taking the Better Sleep Council's mattress shopping quiz for a breakdown of everything you should know before you hit the mattress showroom. The quiz doesn't recommend a specific brand or type of mattress, but it does prompt you to answer a series of questions to make the mattress-shopping experience more productive. "Consumers have been reluctant to make mattress shopping a priority," said Cralle, who is also a spokesperson for the non-profit group. The information from the quiz can really help empower the consumer in selecting a mattress that best fits their needs, she said. Lay on it for at least 15 minutes in the store, or longer if you can, and be sure to lay in the position you sleep in, Cralle advised.